


Don't be a nightingale for anyone's space to fill

by sandyk



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: F/M, mention of Arthur/Barry, teeny x-over with dc tv verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-05 19:41:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14625669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandyk/pseuds/sandyk
Summary: "You lived," Steve said. "It's, it's complicated. I'm not technically your Steve. Like you're not technically my Diana. Have you been keeping up with theoretical physics and alternate universes?" He smiled because it sounded ridiculous.





	Don't be a nightingale for anyone's space to fill

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tommygirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tommygirl/gifts).



> Notes: not mine, no profit garnered. For tommygurl.

After they first saw each other, after they stupidly stumbled into each other arms and even kissed right in the middle of the subway station, Diana grabbed his arm and dragged him up into the streets of New York City and then they were in some cafe that Steve was convinced had to be insanely expensive because it was so dull and clean. 

Steve had been in a tunnel and then he'd climbed up and then he saw her. Now somehow, instead of dead he was in a cafe with Diana. Somehow. 

He could barely think, looking in her eyes. He kissed her again, just to feel the touch of her lips. She wore lipstick now. 

"You lived, I don't understand," Diana said. She kissed him, too. It was hard to talk and stop kissing. He wanted to take her home, back to his apartment. His apartment was probably worlds away. Worlds was inaccurate, it was more like time and space and universes. He really hoped someone would take care of his plants. 

"You lived," he said. "It's, it's complicated. I'm not technically your Steve. Like you're not technically my Diana. Have you been keeping up with theoretical physics and alternate universes?" He smiled because it sounded ridiculous. 

She carefully considered his question. "You are saying you are from an alternative universe, another timeline?"

"Yes," Steve said. "Both. Neither? There are an infinite number of universes. I was on one. That was very much like this one. But then there was this moment of magic and I thought I was going to die. So I thought of you."

"Where do we diverge then? How are you even alive now?"

"Well, we could run through every moment of the time we spent together --"

"Oh, excellent idea," Diana said. It was so easy to forget she wasn't his Diana.

Their memories lined up until the air feld near Veld. The final confrontation. 

Steve said, "Then Maisy went after Ares. She recognized Sir Patrick as soon as she saw him. But having him just show up, that had to be an easy conclusion."

Diana said, "Who is Maisy? I don't understand."

"One more of Zeus's kids. Your dad was, uh, a father to many. She was, she had been presenting as a man to fight on the Turkish side, but she recognized that you two were sisters. She hated Ares a lot more than you. Apparently, in my world, Ares had made a habit of hunting down every child of Zeus he could find. And killing them. Maisy knew some of them. So before I could stop you, you got on the plane, you flew it into the air. Maisy killed Ares," Steve said. It was the worst day of his life, still. He'd had a lot of life since then, but sometimes he still closed his eyes and saw the bright burst of light that meant she was gone. 

"No, that was you. That was you. There was no one to help. No half sister," Diana said. "You died." She paused. "So you are not him but a version of him. You can't forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?" 

Diana covered her face with her hands. Then she placed her palms firmly on the table and looked at him steadily. "I was pregnant. I had Steve's child, a boy and I gave him up. I never even told him I was his mother. I was too sad, too involved in my own grief even ten months later, I couldn't face him. I gave him to Etta and she raised him. She told him you were his father and his mother had died in childbirth."

Steve covered her hand with his own. He knew grief. "I forgive you," he said. 

"Etta raised him to be a fine man. He married and had a daughter. Then he died in World War II. He was a hero," Diana said. "His daughter become a doctor. She died working for Doctors Without Borders. Left a son. They're cursed. Cursed because of me. And you can't forgive me, you're not him."

"How's the great grandson? What does he do?" 

Diana shook her head and looked down. She said, "He's a psychiatrist, he works with children who've experienced trauma. He's a good man. So far he hasn't had children. So I hope he outlives the curse."

"I don't think there's a curse. Who cursed you?" Steve held on to her hand. 

"I gave up my child. I can't be forgiven," Diana said. 

"I forgive you," Steve said. "I forgive you. You died in front of me, and I guess you were pregnant, so I forgive you."

Diana sighed. "I don't think it works that way."

"Hey, what do you know of curses?" Steve smiled. 

"What do you?" She smiled, her eyes teary. 

"After you died, I tried. A few months. Doing work, good work, after the War. But I went back to doing nothing. I tried to forget you which never worked. I tried to get to Themyscira so I could tell your mother. I wanted her to know. But it was unfindable. Instead I found myself being drawn into magic and mystical arts. I thought I could get there, I could get to you somehow, bring you back. None of it worked. But, to make a long story short, I went the wrong way down an alley in New Orleans and fell into a wormhole. When I woke up, it was 2014 and I was in Central City."

"Central City? I know someone from there, a boy."

"Me, too," Steve said. "Not a boy. A man named Barry Allen. The Flash. I feel okay telling you that because we're in a different world."

"I know Barry Allen," Diana said. "The Flash. He's a young man, very jittery."

"I bet we know different Barry Allens. I'm sure of it, actually. Mine's happily married, his wife's Iris West. They had a whole crew working together, and with the Arrow in Star City," Steve said.

"And Superman in Metropolis," Diana said. "Who's the Arrow?"

"The Hood? Murderous vigilante, lives in Star City. That's the Arrow," Steve said. "Superman? Who's Superman?"

"You don't know Superman in your, your timeline?"

"Never heard of him, sweetheart. I assume he's super," Steve said. "One time there was a Supergirl, but I never met her. She was from another universe."

"Yes, that sounds about right," she said. She even smiled. "Why would you ever forgive me? I gave up my child --"

"To a good woman who raised him with love," Steve said. "I'm guessing."

"I hid away. During the Holocaust, I was in Chile. Then I spent twenty years in Siberia before I went to Paris," Diana said.

"Actual Siberia? Do you like the cold?"

"Not particularly," Diana said. "Have you been there?"

"No. I had, I had a crash course in the whole entire world since 1924 when I got to 2014. They were very nice about it. Barry and Iris and Joe. And then, I guess the speed force brought me here. I don't know why," Steve said. "I was thinking of you, though. I would have preferred not to arrive in a sewer tunnel, but who can you complain to?"

He'd lived in that weird city, living in Star Labs, helping Barry and Iris and Cisco with all he had to offer. Which wasn't much since everyone they knew except Iris and Joe had been meta humans. Cisco had said Steve had something in his blood from the time travel and the playing around with magic he didn't understand. It didn't give him much in the way of superpowers, but he managed with the same skill set as the Arrow. He could make a difference. He had made a difference.

When they all started talked about Earth 2, and all the other Earths, he kept wishing for one that had Diana alive. She never should have died. It should have been like this world, he should have been in that plane. 

Between the speed force and the particle accelerator and all of Barry's insane time hops, Steve wasn't surprised he got sucked into the wrong vortex. He was surprised it had taken three years. "Maybe," he said. "Maybe the speed force was reading my mind."

"I'm glad," she said. She kissed him again and he kissed back, their hands clasped tight.

He said, "What do we do now? Besides the kissing. I love the kissing."

She smiled shyly. "I have a place. And I've been, hmm, do you know Batman?"

Steve snorted. "That a ridiculous name."

"It is, a little," she said. "He is not a ridiculous man. We've been trying to put together a league. Of extraordinary people. To get back to doing something. Me, Batman, Barry who is nothing like your Barry."

"I will happily clean stuff. Maybe you need a secretary. You, specifically. I don't want to work for Batguy. I don't have much else to offer," he said. 

"You traveled in time, and you traveled across time, maybe it left a mark on you. You just said your friend thought you had something in you," Diana said. "We should have you checked out. I don't know who would do it. Maybe Batman."

"Diana, they did that back in my timeline. In my universe. It's like a little tiny trace in my blood. Does the Batfellow have bat friends that do his work for him?"

"He's not that funny once you meet him," Diana said. "He doesn't have much of a sense of humor, honestly."

"Sounds fun," Steve said. "I was just moving from place to place doing nothing. Then I came to Central City and met Barry and now I try to do something. It's not always big monsters and apocalypses, sometimes it's actually just helping someone across the street. Which doesn't sound like much. But I think it all adds up."

Diana had a look on her face, he remembered why he'd spent so many years unable to do anything but be in love with her and mourn her loss. She said, "I missed you. Maybe I will believe I'm forgiven."

Diana took him to Gotham. It was like noir movie brought to life, but dirtier and much more filled with despair and crime. He got to meet Batman and Superman. "They seem nice," he said to Diana. 

They hadn't done anything more than kiss. Steve didn't want to push. He kept wondering if Diana had been dating but he didn't know how to ask. If he had the right to ask. They'd done their traveling on Diana's dime, which was a really big dime. Every night they would end up in separate beds in very nice hotels. Diana had done the arranging so he assumed that was what she wanted. 

Finally, they were back in Paris. Diana had a spartan but gorgeous apartment. As they walked in and Diana started removing her shoes, she said, "We should get you more clothes."

"Maybe my own place?" 

"Do you want your own place?"

"I, I want, I want what makes you comfortable. We kissed a lot that first hour and after that not so much. I don't know what you want," Steve said.

"I don't know what I want," Diana said. "I feel like, I felt cursed. I cut off that part of me. You were the only one that made me want that way. But maybe I never tried to be open. But that wasn't you, not really. You're Steve Trevor. But you're not. The differences are very slight."

"I also haven't dated since you. I had, I had sex with Maisy once, right after the battle. It was a weird sort of grief sex. I'm sorry," he said.

"No, I understand. Physical release is very important," Diana said. "As part of grieving. But you didn't fall in love."

"No, not once," Steve said. "You're a hard woman to get over."

"I had no idea how to get over you. I barely think I have now. But you are here." Diana sat down on her divan. He thought it was a divan. It looked like it should be a divan. She looked elegant as always. 

"We can take it slow," Steve said. "Whatever that means."

She said, "Slow. Should we only hold hands?"

"I love that idea, of course," Steve said. "We can talk, too. Put this out in the open."

"This?"

"Our relationship," Steve said. "It's amazing to me that we can still get along, do things together, accomplish things. We're a good team."

"We are," Diana said. She stood up and leaned over Steve, then kissed his cheek. He reached up and held her cheek. Her skin was still so smooth and warm. Steve felt his breath speed up and he shifted so he could kiss her on her lips. They were still so soft and he wanted her so badly. He stood up and held her wrists, he would never grab her. Her pulse was racing. She stepped back. "Or we could have sexual intercourse right now. On my bed. Do you have a condom? I do not."

"I do," he said. "Sorry about last time, I wasn't thinking. We knew about condoms then, of course, we weren't idiots back in 1918, but I thought since you were an Amazon, well. I wasn't thinking. Much like now."

She smiled that perfect smile and he took a deep breath and held her again, became one with her. He didn't regret not having sex in years, or decades. He just wished he'd had more time with Diana and now he did. He loved her so much.

He breathed in the bed next to her. She was also tiring. It was a good thing he kept in shape. She was breathing heavily which made him a little proud. She said, "I don't think you need to work. You live here. I will just, just a few breaks to save the world."

"I can offer some strategy hints. I'm good with strategy," Steve said.

"I thought you were more of a spy," Diana said. 

"I've some time to pick up new skills," Steve said. "I'm a quick learner. It takes a lot of adaptability, traveling through time."

It worked somewhat like that. Diana would fly off and he'd see why on the news. The scary ones were the ones he didn't see on the news. She came home every time and shook out her hair, scrubbed at her face for no reason. He'd start a shower for her and follow her in, rubbing her hair and then down her back. He waited for her to relax. She never completely relaxed, she usually dragged him from the shower into their bed. 

He woke up one morning and she was holding his penis, delicately. She said, "I've seen more penises now. I like yours. I like yours better than others I've seen."

"Thank goodness. But I have value besides appearance, I hope."

"You give excellent backrubs," Diana said. She was smiling peacefully. He liked that, too. 

"My contribution to world peace," Steve said. He didn't particularly mind. 

From day to day, Diana usually went to the Louvre. Steve walked. He walked around Paris and listened to podcasts. He loved the future. He kept his eyes out, though, and did things like help old ladies cross the street, step in front of assholes trying to push old ladies off the street. Things like that. He even got beat up a few times, nothing serious. Diana would coo and rub his bruises. 

"So you just walk around like a random hero vigilante?"

"I don't like to be compared to Batman," Steve said. "I'm much more attractive and much less likely to wear rubber."

"You could get a job that does that," Diana said. 

Steve frowned. "I don't trust many police officers. Too many men who love power and don't care about justice. Most of the time, I don't care about justice, either, I care about compassion. I learned that from you."

Diana smiled and sighed. "I love you. If you didn't have that bruise over your eye, I'd call you handsome."

"I'll be handsome in two days."

He finally worked up the courage to ask Diana to go to see her grandson. "I don't want to meet him, I just, I'd like to see him."

Diana visibly steeled herself. "Of course. He lives in London. His father, by the way, was from Gambia and our son married a woman from Bangladesh."

"Are you worried I'm going to be racist?"

"No, I want you to be prepared when you see him," Diana said. 

They went to London and Diana drove a small car that had Steve's knees against the dash. She stopped on a city street and parallel parked like a computer. He continued to find so many things he loved about her. Diana was very serious as they went into a cafe. She ordered them both beer and food and they sat outside at one of the tables. "We're not going to do anything," Steve said. "But I forgave you, remember? There's no curse."

"Instead we are just stalking the poor man."

"He's in his 40s," Steve said. "He'll be fine."

Finally, a man came out of building across the street, carefully setting an alarm. It was funny, Steve thought, seeing his own face with different skin, and brown eyes. He looked like a good man, Steve thought. But of course he would think that, Steve thought of himself as a good man. 

"Etta was a very loving mother," Diana said. "You said that ages ago and I didn't confirm it. That was wrong of me, because she was wonderful. I was jealous. I would never take my baby back, not with Etta as a mother."

"Diana, you did the best you could. You don't have to be perfect, or always do the exact right thing. Sometimes you do the best you can," Steve said. "As far as I know. I gave up on the world and all I wanted was you. So we're both obviously awful people."

"You are not awful," Diana said.

"I guess that means you aren't, either," Steve said. "Look at us, not awful people." He took her hand in both of his and squeezed. "We're doing the best we can, right?"

"Right," Diana said. 

Diana's great-grandson walked right past them into the cafe, ordering tea and sitting down to eat at the bar. Steve was about to make a remark wondering where the man's friends were, but apparently they were all at the cafe, coming in and out, saying hello or sitting down next to him for a few minutes. "You've been here before," Steve said.

"Of course I have. I try." She looked down at the table. "I don't want other people to know. Who might hurt him."

"He's one-sixteenth Greek god," Steve said. "Doesn't that help?"

"I don't think he notices," Diana said. "He's hardly been trained to fight."

"So not an Amazon," Steve said.

Diana stood up abruptly. "We should go now."

"Got it," Steve said. 

They didn't talk for the entire trip home to Paris. As they got into the apartment, Steve said, "Thank you for taking me. I know you didn't want to."

"I want to everyday," Diana said. "But it would be wrong. I'm not going to argue with you about that."

"Me neither. I am going to drink a lot of your expensive wine if you wanted to join me," Steve said. It made Diana smile so he felt accomplished.

He truly became the boyfriend of a superhero after seven months of living with Diana. A very very tall man wearing an oddly mauve helmet came running down the Parisian alley Steve was walking through. When he realized he was a target, Steve took off running himself. The bad guy had longer legs so Steve tried dodging and ducking. It didn't work. Steve took a heavy hit on his head and everything went black. 

He woke up in a nondescript room, chained to a pole. Right next to him was a college guy. "Hey," the boy said. "We're hostages, I think. Are you friends with a superhero? Barry and I are pretty good friends. We used to date but he moved on with, like, this incredibly attractive guy. But that guy was hard to find and I go to CU."

"I'm dating Wonder Woman," Steve said. His head was throbbing. He said, "Don't tell."

"Oh, I won't. I'm really into guys but Wonder Woman is super hot. Good for you."

"Thanks," Steve said. "I'm not into guys but you seem hot, I'm sorry you got dumped. I bet his new boyfriend isn't that hot."

"Have you seen that guy they call Aquaman?"

"Oh, shit, okay. Sorry," Steve said. "So they brought me all the way from France and you from Central City so where do you think we are?"

"USA for sure," the guy said. "But they can possibly teleport so it's not as much of an accomplishment as you might think."

"Teleporting, man, that sounds so cool," Steve said. "I guess we wait for our friends to come for us."

"To rescue us," the guy said. "You can say it. We're damsels in distress."

"Compared to them we are," Steve said. He was already struggling against the chains. "But maybe we can do something." They were very strong chains.

"So you're from Paris? You don't sound French," the guy said. He wasn't struggling at all. 

"I'm from Iowa," Steve said. "But I've moved around a lot since then." He tried a few tricks on the chains, trying to collapse his shoulder or something like that. He didn't want Diana getting hurt because of him. He tried to melt back into the pole and found the chain slipped a little. Not just a little, but enough he could wiggle out from under it with only a little scraping. Just a flesh wound. He wondered if anyone had ever shown Diana Monty Python movies. He should check. He'd loved them. Spent a whole weekend in 2016 watching every one. 

"How did you do that? Do you have super powers, too?" The guy wiggled but nothing he did worked.

"Maybe? Not much of a one." Steve looked at Barry's ex. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Ian." Ian held up his hand under the chain and waved.

Steve got Ian out and started scoping out where they were. It looked like every single warehouse basement he'd ever seen. He touched a few pipes, they weren't cold or hot. He knocked on them and they sounded hollow. "Okay, I think this place is not in use."

"Well, sure," Ian said. "I screamed my head off and no one reacted."

"That could just be good insulation, but you're probably right, good sign." Steve looked back at the chains. He was probably a little bit out of phase with this world, maybe if he found the right concentration or anger or mantra, he could use that. He really didn't want to think about it now. 

"No rats," Steve said. "Abandoned warehouses get animals seeking shelter."

"Maybe it's a chemical plant that used to make rat poison and they can tell," Ian said. Ian was walking backwards behind Steve, which was oddly smart of him. 

"Possibly," Steve said. Whomever kidnapped them was obviously not very worried about them. They easily got to the first floor which was deserted. And didn't even have security. Or Steve didn't see any cameras or sensors. 

Ian said, "All the equipment's gone. Maybe it was made of copper. People love copper."

"No equipment is made entirely of copper," Steve said. "This looks like someone sold everything, had it removed carefully. There's no way you have your phone, right?"

"Nope," Ian said. "Bad guy crushed it. I don't have insurance on that thing."

"I bet when we get rescued someone will be able to buy you new one," Steve said. 

They walked out of the warehouse slash factory and found themselves on top of a low hill, nothing but brown starved grass all around them. "So this could be anywhere," Ian said. "Stay here and wait for rescue?"

"We help them along by rescuing ourselves," Steve said. "Superheroes like that." They found something that resembled a road and started to follow it. 

After an hour or two, they found themselves in a small town with American signs. Steve stopped in front of a batch of free papers thrown on the ground. He realized they were in Iowa. "Welcome home," Ian said. 

"Yup, let's go find ourselves a phone or a library. I know a guy who can come get us."

Although Steve had emailed Alfred Pennyworth, it was Superman who came to get them. "You two saved yourselves."

Ian said nothing. Steve and Superman tactfully ignored Ian's boner. Superman said, "I can take you to Des Moines, the airport. There will be tickets waiting for you. Steve, yours goes back to Paris. Ian, you're off to Central City."

"And my phone?" Ian sounded forlorn. He must have loved that phone. Steve thought it was a useful tool but he didn't really get attached. He did like his crossword puzzle app. 

"I understand you'll have a replacement mailed to you." They got to fly under Superman's arms which was kinda neat. Steve preferred Wonder Woman, but he always preferred being in Diana's arms. He was feeling sentimental. 

The flight back to Paris took forever. Steve had never learned to fly the modern planes though maybe he should. He didn't really want to. So usually when he flew, he was with Diana and they would talk or hold hands or both. He liked to download ridiculous romantic comedies and watch them with her while she made fun of them or asked questions about their thin motivations. He didn't know why he liked the romantic comedies best. They just seemed like the most fun. 

He let himself into the apartment and there was no sign of Diana. She was probably saving the world. She'd come when she could. He just really missed her. 

He took a quick shower and laid down on the bed. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he did. 

Diana woke him up and kissed his cheek. "You didn't need any rescuing," she said.

"It was weird," Steve said. "I just tried to melt, and it worked. It worked a little, enough for me to get free. It was weird."

"You melted?" She hugged him tight and ran her warm hands down his thighs. "You feel solid."

"I think I'm just a little bit out of phase with this world. This reality. Maybe I can use that sometimes. I was pretty desperate," he said. 

"Was Barry's ex-boyfriend obnoxious?"

"He was great, good kid," Steve said. "I hope he finds someone nice. He really thought Clark was hot."

Diana smiled. "I love you."

"You don't think Clark is hot?"

Diana kissed his chest. "Aesthetic appreciation isn't the same as love."

He lightly threaded his fingers through her lovely hair. He said, "I love you, too. I was home, today. Not my real home. Iowa, I mean. It's been a hundred years, I'm sure everything is different. But it was home. I was born there. And you've never been back to Themyscira. Roots are important."

"Do you want to go to Iowa," Diana said. "I've reconciled myself to losing my roots. Maybe you haven't."

"I have. But I wonder if you really have? You've never had a chance to talk to your mother about how she lied to you," Steve said. "I should have asked a long time ago. Are you mad? Were you mad?"

"She wanted to protect me," Diana said. "I had a child. I understand why she tried so hard. Even if I never raised him."

"Oh, just in case you haven't heard it enough, I forgive you for that," Steve said. 

"I appreciate hearing it even if I don't believe it," Diana said.

"I wish, I wish. There must be one world where we both lived, and we had this, we were together and you had our baby and we had a roaring time in the twenties. And then we would have starved in the depression. Or not. We could have been this happy for so long," Steve said.

Diana said, "Instead we have this. And you have your cell phone and crossword puzzle app."

"So important to me," he said. They had their quiet, loving version of spectacular sex because all their sex was spectacular. 

When he woke up in the morning, Diana had already made breakfast. She was a very precise cook. She said, "I was thinking about your melting. And I talked overnight to Victor, he's very smart. He thought your theory about being a little out of phase was probably right."

"It's not something we have to focus on, I'm not getting a rubber suit," Steve said. His head still hurt.

"Victor had some ideas," Diana said. "Maybe next time we are all together somewhere."

"And it's not because everyone's going to die," Steve said. "I'd prefer to stay in Paris for those."

"The world is ending and you will be in Paris," Diana said, smiling. "Should I picture in my final moments having a glass of wine, walking around?"

"I would be outside, trying to get people to the catacombs under the city. Maybe they'd be safe there. I've thought about this," Steve said.

Diana walked over and kissed his forehead. "I love you. So much. Bless that speedforce that brought you here."

"I completely agree," Steve said. "You know what? We should get a cat. You can leave cats alone, so it's perfect for us. We can name it Speedy."

"Okay," Diana said. "We can do that today."

"I like this plan so much more than checking out my possible out of phase-ness by Victor," Steve said.


End file.
